Former U.S. President George H. W. Bush stable in hospital

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. President George H. W. Bush is being treated at a Houston hospital for complications related to bronchitis and is in stable condition, the hospital said on Thursday.

"President Bush has been in and out of The Methodist Hospital in the Texas Medical Center being treated for complications related to his bronchitis," Bush's office said in a statement released by the hospital. "He is in stable condition, and is expected to be released within the next 72 hours."

The Houston Chronicle reported Thursday that Bush, 88, has been in the hospital for a week.

Bush, a Republican and the 41st president, took office in 1989 and served one term in the White House.

The father of former President George W. Bush, he also served as a congressman, U.N. ambassador, envoy to China, CIA director and was vice president for two terms under Ronald Reagan.

As president, Bush routed Iraq after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990 and his approval ratings soared to the 90 percent range. But just 20 months later he was defeated in his re-election bid by Democrat Bill Clinton.